Category Archive for: ‘South Asia’

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In June 2013, the Indian state of Uttarakhand and the surrounding areas received heavy rainfall. The amount was about 375% more rainfall than during a normal monsoon. This caused the melting of Chorabari Glacier and in turn the Mandakini River overflowed, heavily flooding the areas in and near Gobindghat, Kedar Dome, Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Western Nepal.

The places hit have cancelled several pilgrimages for the next two years until the area can be rebuilt and made safe. Environmentalists contribute the main cause for such heavy rainfall to the 70 hydroelectric projects that added to the ecological imbalance of the state by restricting river flow and along with their streamside fabrication, increased the number of landslides and flooding.

Ananda Nagar is a unique rural development project. Located in one of the poorest and most backward areas of India, Purulia district in West Bengal, the area around Ananda Nagar is inhabited by indigent tribal villagers and exemplifies most of the problems which rural people face: lack of education and literacy, chronic disease especially leprosy, widespread nutrition verging on starvation, total absence of any source of energy life electricity, non-productive agriculture on arid and non-irrigated lands, and lack of any type of industrial development. The projects of Ananda Nagar are designed to address all of these challenges and transform a depressed area into a vibrant example of sustainable development.